Cannonball Coming to Cashel

Reporter:

staff reporter

23 Aug 2013

0

On Sunday CANNONBALL in aid of Laura Lynn House, makes its final stop in Cashel in Co Tipperary at 1.30pm with the thunderous roar of 160 super cars. Thousands of Cannonball Fans are expected to flock to Cashel for a full weekend of activities including the Gathering of Wheels, the Queen of Cannonball and to get up close and personal with most of the world’s top mark cars such as McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Masseratti, Rolls Royce and Bentley. Local Cannonball organiser John McHugh from Cashel expects over 5,000 people to descend on the town for this adrenalin fuelled event with family activities, live music and spectacular car drifting. Enthusiastic fans can take photographs, meet the drivers and enjoy a great family day out as the cars rest for a few hours on the Main Street in Cashel which will be closed off for the event before the final journey to Tullamore.

On Sunday CANNONBALL in aid of Laura Lynn House, makes its final stop in Cashel in Co Tipperary at 1.30pm with the thunderous roar of 160 super cars. Thousands of Cannonball Fans are expected to flock to Cashel for a full weekend of activities including the Gathering of Wheels, the Queen of Cannonball and to get up close and personal with most of the world’s top mark cars such as McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Masseratti, Rolls Royce and Bentley. Local Cannonball organiser John McHugh from Cashel expects over 5,000 people to descend on the town for this adrenalin fuelled event with family activities, live music and spectacular car drifting. Enthusiastic fans can take photographs, meet the drivers and enjoy a great family day out as the cars rest for a few hours on the Main Street in Cashel which will be closed off for the event before the final journey to Tullamore.

This adrenalin fuelled event is the largest organised road trip in Europe and the most exciting motoring and social event of the year. Over 100,000 people will line the streets all over Ireland as Cannonball, sponsored by Manhattan Popcorn, blazes a trail through towns and counties to raise funds for Laura Lynn House which supports children with life limiting conditions and their families by providing high quality transitional care, home support, respite, crisis and end-of-life care. The Cashel Cannonball Festival is one of the most anticipated highlights of the event with a whole weekend of Activities planned. The Queen of Cannonball was launched at Foleys in Cashel on July 24th where 14 ‘Cannonbelles’ vied for the coveted title of Queen of Cannonball! The winner will be chosen on August 23rd at a Gala event in Halla na Feile and will be whisked off in one of the Supercars to do the final stage of the event in one of the 160 Super Cars. The Cashel Cannonball Queen will go through the finish line with 10,000 spectators in Tullamore, join a wild VIP after party with 380 Cannonballers and special celebrity guests. On Saturday August 24th The Gathering of the Wheels takes place with an eclectic mix of wheels from Vintage cars to High Performance mega machines. The highlight of the weekend will be on Sunday as the Cannonball Convoy rolls into town with a thunderous roar at 1.30pm for a lunch pitstop before leaving at approx 3.30pm for its final journey to Tullamore.

CANNONBALL is the brainchild of AB Signs proprietor, Alan Bannon and is now in its fifth year having already raised nearly a half a million euro for Children’s charities. The event and each stop is infused with an electric atmosphere featuring Brazilian dancers, snake charmers, fire eaters, music and this year some of the host towns have 2 day CANNONBALL festivals to welcome the event. Spectators and car enthusiasts along the route will hear the roar of the mighty convoy as they approach and all prestige cars are on view to the public as they cross the finish line at the end of each day. Cannonballers wear colourful costumes and fancy dress just like the original movie and this year are urging spectators and fans along the route to do the same! Cashel will be a sight to behold as sultry nurses, corrupt NYPD police officers, 70’ disco kings, mustachioed racing drivers, grid girls and many more get set for this mad cap adventure.

The star-studded convoy includes some of Irelands best loved celebrities. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny has even stepped up to drop the Cannonball Flag. World Famous chart topper BRUNO MARS has joined Boyzone’s Shane Lynch who is signed up for his fifth Cannonball along with former Miss World Rosanna Davison and boyfriend Wes Quirke whilst celebrity chef Rachel Allen, The Voice Presenter Kathryn Thomas, TV3’s Elaine Crowley and RTE’s Miriam O Callaghan have also had a Cannonball pit stop or two. Models Georgia Salpa, Aisling Quinn, Hazel O Sullivan, Emma Quinlan and Holly Carpenter have been keen Cannonballers over the years and this year Roz Purcell, Nadia Forde, Kerri Nicole Blanc and Rachel Wallace will set temperatures soaring in the Tan Organic Car. Gerald Keane, Lisa Murphy and Mick Galway are also gearing up for Cannonball 5 so 2013 will not disappoint in the celeb stakes.

CANNONBALL 2013 consists of 3 action packed days taking in some ofIreland’s most scenic routes. On day one, the cars will leave Mondello Race Track in Naas, Co Kildare at 12.30pm and arrive at the Manor House Hotel in Abbeyleix for a lunch stop at 1.30pm. The next CANNONBALL pitstop is Ballymaloe House in Middleton at 4.30pm before the gleaming convoy arrives inCorkat 6.30pm and makes its way throughPatrick St, which will be closed for the event, to thePortofCorkwith a reception at Gatley’s Boardwalk Bar and Grill. On Saturday August 24th, CANNONBALL leavesCorkat 10am to take in a stunning drive through Glenboy and then on to Kenmare for lunch at the Sheen Falls Hotel at 1.30. At 3.30 the gleaming covoy will take in Molls Gap between Kenmare and Killarney before arriving toLimerickat 6pm. On Sunday morning Cannonballers will leaveLimerickat 10am and go to Killaloe for a very special Gathering of the ‘Men of the Water’ and the official start of Day 3 at 11am. From there the cars will move on to Cashel inTipperaryat 1.30pm where they will close a Cannonball Festival. Cannonball then arrives to Tullamore inCountyOffalyat 5pm for the finish line with the 2FM Roadcaster where the roars of the engines will compete with a cheering crowd of over 10,000 people and a 2 day music festival.

With 50 supercars coming from as far as Italy, Germany, US, UK, Monaco, Russia, Switzerland and the Caymen Islands in this very special year of The Gathering, Cannonball is set to put Ireland on the world motoring map once again. “Cannonball 5 is set to be one of the most spectacular events of 2013” said Don O Neil of Manhattan Popcorn, main sponsor of Cannonball “We are very proud to be part of this exhilarating event and to help raise funds for LauraLynn. Popcorn goes with all good movies but we are getting the opportunity to bring this mad cap movie to life and there will be lots of Manhattan popcorn on the route to celebrate our association with Cannonball” he continued. The Cannonball tour sponsor for 2013 is Carzone.ie and associated sponsors include The Supercar Experience, Tan Organic, Indie Spice Restaurant Group, Paddy Connolly Specialist Cars, Palace Nightclubs and AB Signs. See www.cannonball.ie for further details, routes and Cannonball events.

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